Amber came to us looking for assistance with obtaining her GED and continuing to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. She was a single mother who was working and receiving SNAP benefits. Within a few months of enrolling in Adult Education services, Amber passed the final portion of her GED and earned her High School Equivalency. The following semester, Amber enrolled in general education courses at Heartland Community College to pursue their Physical Therapist Assistant program. She was able to receive enough PELL and MAP to cover the tuition and books required for her classes, however, she needed assistance with gas to get to her classes in Normal. She progressed well through her general studies and took a semester off to have a baby. Last summer, she realized it was taking longer than she anticipated to complete the Physical Therapist Assistant program, so she decided to change her area of study to Medical Assistant. With the approval of the change in programs, we were able to continue to reimburse Amber's gas to class, pay for supplies needed for her clinical class, and also helped pay a portion of a utility bill as an emergency supportive service. Doing so helped her stay afloat until she could start earning a self-sufficient wage. In May 2022, she earned her Medical Assistant Certificate. Within a couple of weeks, she applied and accepted a CMA position at an area hospital. Amber has expressed her appreciation for the opportunity: “Everyone was kind and very prompt to help guide me through this whole process. This program was a blessing. Thank you so much for everything you have done for me.”

Amanda was a single mom who was out of work. She inquired about the CNA industry and after hearing more about our program enrolled in the class. Through our scholarship, she was able to receive her tuition, books, clinical supplies, and gas paid for so she had no out of pockets costs to obtain her diploma. After obtaining her certification, she quickly became employed at Accolade Healthcare as a CNA. 

Cory was referred to our program by Heartland Community College. He had no recent work history and needed to upgrade his skills in order to find self-sustaining employment. After completing a drug test and physical in order to identify he was capable of pursuing employment in the trucking industry, Cory enrolled in a CDL class. It was a hardship traveling nearly 500 miles per week to get to class; however, with help from our gas reimbursement program, he was able to make it work. In just over 4 weeks, he obtained his CDL and was employed by Nussbaum Trucking the following week.